Rafael Ortiz Martínez

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New York, January 8, 2010—Mexican reporter Valentín Valdés Espinosa was abducted on Thursday and found shot to death early this morning in the city of Saltillo, Coahuila state, in northern Mexico, according to local news reports. Mexican authorities must conduct a thorough investigation into this vicious attack and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Valdés, at left, who covered local news including crimefor the daily Zócalo de Saltillo, finished work at the paper around 11 p.m. and left the office with two colleagues, according to Editor-in-Chief Sergio Cisneros. While they were in a car in downtown Saltillo, a group of men in two SUVs intercepted them. Valdés and a reporter whose name has not been released were forced into one of the SUVs and driven away, Cisneros said.

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In Mexico, seven reporters have vanished in three years. Many had investigated links between public officials and drug traffickers. Are the crime groups changing tactics, or is a new type of perpetrator at work?

CPJ research indicates that the following journalists have disappeared while doing their work. Although some of them are feared dead, no bodies have been found, and they are therefore not classified as "Killed." If a journalist disappeared after being held in government custody, CPJ classifies him or her as "Imprisoned" as a way to hold the government accountable for the journalist's fate.

New York, April 17, 2007—A Mexican crime reporter who was abducted on Monday by armed men in Agua Prieta, a city on the Arizona border, is missing. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating whether the incident was related to his journalistic work.

Saúl Noé Martínez Ortega, 36, who covers crime for the newspaper Interdiario in Agua Prieta, was driving a black SUV around midnight when another vehicle started a high-speed chase, according to local press reports.

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Gunmen stormed the offices of the Nuevo Laredo daily El Mañana in February, firing assault rifles, tossing a grenade—and setting the tone for another dangerous year for Mexican journalists. The shocking assault, which seriously injured reporter Jaime Orozco, spurred the federal government to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate crimes against the press. The 2006 blotter was long: U.S. documentary filmmaker Bradley Will was murdered during civil unrest in the southern state of Oaxaca in October; Veracruz crime reporter Roberto Marcos García was slain in November; and Monclova journalist Rafael Ortiz Martínez went missing in July after exposing widespread problems related to prostitution. CPJ is investigating five other journalist murders to determine whether they were work-related.

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New York, January 26, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the fate of Mexican reporter Rodolfo Rincón Taracena, who has been missing in the southern Tabasco state since Saturday night. CPJ is investigating whether Rincón’s disappearance is linked to his professional work.

Rincón, an investigative crime reporter for the Villahermosa-based daily Tabasco Hoy, was last seen leaving the newsroom around 7 p.m., a colleague who asked not to be identified told CPJ. Rincón left his personal belongings and camera at his desk and told his editor that he would be back shortly, the source said. No one has heard from Rincón since.

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New York, August 10, 2006—The body of Enrique Perea Quintanilla, a longtime police reporter who became editor of a crime magazine, was found on the outskirts of the northern city of Chihuahua on Wednesday afternoon. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating whether Perea's murder is related to his work.

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New York, July 11, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the fate of Mexican journalist Rafael Ortiz Martínez, who has been missing since Saturday morning. CPJ is investigating whether the disappearance is related to his work.

Ortiz, a reporter for the Monclova-based daily Zócalo and host of the morning news program “Radio Zócalo” on local radio station XHCCG, was last seen leaving the newspaper’s offices at 1:30 a.m., Editor Sergio Cisneros told CPJ. Cisneros said Ortiz had been editing material for Saturday morning’s radio show.